


take me there

by wordsinbetween



Series: the way home [3]
Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Domestic Fluff, M/M, Summer, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:46:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24654796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordsinbetween/pseuds/wordsinbetween
Summary: Richie keeps walking down the aisle, searching for his grand prize. Ah! Yes. He looks between his options carefully, smiling to himself as he thinks about which Eddie would probably hate the least.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Series: the way home [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1735579
Comments: 17
Kudos: 322





	take me there

**Author's Note:**

  * For [oxfordlunch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/oxfordlunch/gifts).



> Happy birthday Malcolm!!! Here's some fluff for your special day. Thanks for being my friend.

“Can I borrow your car today?” Richie says, holding his phone up to his ear with his shoulder.

“If you want to come get it, sure,” Eddie shouts back on the other end of the line before muttering something Richie can’t quite make out.

“Yeah,” Richie bites back a laugh. “I don’t mind. Did you already eat? I can pick up something for you on my way.”

There’s a sharp metallic  _ clang  _ and the unmistakable sound of Eddie yelling “motherfuck–!”

Richie nearly spits out his mouthful of water. He wipes away the drop that dribbles out of the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand as he waits for Eddie to gather himself again.

“What’d you say?” Eddie says a couple seconds later, sounding out of breath and more than a little frustrated. He’s still shouting.

“Do you have me on speaker again?”

“Yes,” Eddie says with a grumble; Richie can practically see his eyes rolling. “I’m at work, Richie.”

“Aw, babe. I love it when you make time for me,” Richie says, gathering his keys from the hallway table and shoving his feet into his shoes as he opens the front door. “Have you eaten lunch yet or not?”

“I don’t even know what time it is,” Eddie says, his voice closer to the speaker now, his tone a little softer.

“It’s time to eat, my honey bunch.”

“Richie, I’m begging you to stop with the pet names. We talked about this like two days ago.”

“But I love you,” Richie says with a little smile as he sits down behind the wheel of the Fiero.

There’s a long moment of silence on Eddie’s end before he says, “I love you, too,” a tender sort of wonder in his voice.

_ Yeah, _ Richie thinks.  _ I know how you feel. _

“Can you just bring me some tacos or something?”

“Your wish is my command, buttercup.”

“Richie.”

“Sorry. Last one. I promise.”

“What do you need my car for?” Eddie asks.

“Well, the Fiero doesn’t exactly have a lot of storage space,” Richie shrugs, pointing the car north towards the little taco truck that likes to sit on the corner of Elm in the afternoons.

Eddie audibly sighs. “What are you  _ buying _ ?”

“Oh, nothing,” Richie says, a little sing-song rhythm to his words that is sure to frustrate Eddie.

“You’re ridiculous,” Eddie huffs out, clearly sidetracked by the job again.

“You’re such a sweet talker,” Richie says over the sound of the Fiero’s exhaust. “I’ll be there in a few.”

“Okay,” Eddie says immediately. “I love you.”

Richie can’t help but grin. “I love you too, Eds.”

His stomach rumbles as he gets out of the car a few minutes later, shouting a happy greeting to Manny the taco guy, grin still stretching his cheeks.

~

Richie parks next to the Subaru behind the restoration shop, walking in through the garage’s back door.

“Hey,” he calls out over the music. “Get your tight little ass in here, I have your food.”

Don pops his head up from the other side of a Cadillac, looking two seconds away from either blushing or laughing his head off and getting himself fired.

“Oh, shit,” Richie laughs. “Sorry, Don. Although I’m sure your ass is very–”

“ _ Richie!” _ There’s a shout from the lobby office.

“Coming, dear!” Richie says, waving a little at Don as he walks towards Eddie’s voice.

“He’s not even 25, Richie,” Eddie chastises him from his desk, hunched over some paperwork. “Please don’t harass my employees.”

“You know I’ve only got eyes for the boss,” he says, leaning down to kiss the top of Eddie’s head.

He sets down the bag of food on the desk. He chuckles a little when Eddie tears open the bag, tongue poking out the side of his mouth as he carefully opens the little container of salsa. Richie wipes at a little smudge of oil on the side of his neck before moving to lean against the other side of the desk.

“Do you want me to bring your car back? Or do you just want to drive it home tonight?”

“Are you coming over?” Eddie asks after he’s finished off the first taco.

“Yeah,” he says. “Finished writing early today. Plus it’s nice out. I thought I’d go hang out with Ripley in the backyard.”

“I can drive your car home,” Eddie says, glancing up at him. “You’re still not going to tell me what you’re going to buy?”

“That’d spoil the fun.”

Eddie rolls his eyes and pulls at his arm until Richie leans down to kiss him.

“Are we still having dinner with your parents tomorrow?” Eddie says against his lips, kissing him one more time before focusing his attention on his food again.

“Unfortunately,” Richie groans. Eddie slaps at his hip with the back of his hand. “I’m kidding! I swear!”

He stands up and starts to leave, but stops when Eddie makes a little squeak of disappointment.

“You’re not going to stay for a bit?” Eddie says, swiveling his chair around to face him, half a taco held sadly in his lap.

“I’m losin’ daylight!”

“It’s like three o’clock,” Eddie says, lifting an eyebrow. “The sun doesn’t go down until like… nine.”

“You’ll be home in like two hours,” Richie laughs, moving to stand between Eddie’s feet. “Are you saying you’ve missed me that much?”

“I always miss you,” Eddie says, shyly, a little blush appearing on his cheeks as he tilts his head down.

Richie leans down and braces himself on the armrests of the chair.

“You’re insufferably cute, Kaspbrak,” he says, kissing his cheek. “I’ll pick up some burgers if you want to fire up the grill tonight.”

Eddie nods and smiles up at him brightly, in that certain way that makes it hard for Richie to ever leave his side.

“Yeah, let’s do that,” Eddie says, sitting up in his chair to stay close to Richie. “You should go to Josie’s, they have the–”

“–best beef in town, I know,” Richie grins. “Any other special requests?”

“Kiss me before you go?”

He does.

~

Richie fights his way towards the outdoors section of Walmart, grimacing as someone shoulder checks him as he rounds a corner. He should have driven the extra five minutes to Target.

He walks through the aisle lined with pool noodles and floaties of various shapes and sizes, eyeing a rainbow-colored monstrosity that probably wouldn’t even  _ fit _ , but– maybe for the lake… Richie shakes his head and keeps walking. He picks up a little inflatable beach ball and tucks it under his elbow, and skids to a stop in front of some waterproof beer koozies that claim to float in the water.

“Hell yeah,” he mutters under his breath, smiling awkwardly when a young mom shoots a pointed look at him from the other end of the aisle.

He keeps walking down the aisle, searching for his grand prize.

Ah!  _ Yes. _

He looks between his options carefully, smiling to himself as he thinks about which Eddie would probably hate the least. He looks at the one with little sea creatures– dolphins, starfish, a weirdly anthropomorphic lobster– and nods.

“That’s the one,” he says out loud.

He reaches up towards the rack to bring the large kiddie pool down, knocking his knuckles against the plastic once it’s by his side.

“Perfect.”

He hooks it over his shoulder and walks towards the check-out counters.

~

Richie walks around the side of the house instead of going through the front door. He’s confronted by Ripley’s wiggling excitement as soon as he’s unlatched the fence’s gate, although she loses some of the spring in her step at the unfamiliar and looming object in his hands.

“It’s okay,” he laughs, the gate rattling behind him as the lock settles back into place. “You’re gonna love it, trust me.”

She walks behind him as he makes his way to the patio, nose to the ground and sniffling warily at his wake. She startles when he tosses the plastic pool onto the grass under the still-growing maple, its young limbs casting enough shade to cool down the air. Ripley runs towards the other end up the yard, kicking up grass as she twists into a quick stop. She barks at him once, a playful little invitation. Her tail whips back and forth.

“Hold on,” he shouts back at her, dropping the bag of stuff onto the patio table. “I’ll be right back.”

Richie opens the sliding glass door and steps inside the kitchen. He jogs up the stairs to Eddie’s bedroom, pulling open his drawer– his  _ drawer _ , holy fuck he’s never had a  _ drawer  _ at a boyfriend’s house before, it amazes him every time he thinks about it– and pulls out the extra pair of trunks he keeps here. He smiles at the careful little way Eddie’s folded them and quickly changes into them. He sticks the freshly-bought ground beef in the fridge and grabs a beer on his way back outside.

Ripley, of course, is standing with her two front feet in the pool, licking at the plastic bottom for some reason.

“You’re weird.”

Her tail starts to wag again. He takes a swig from his beer and sets it on the table before walking around to the little garden around the side of the house. He steps over the little fence and leans past the exceedingly happy little bush that Eddie’s told him the name of probably fifteen times, and turns on the hose. He hears it sputter to life at the other end of the garden. He picks up the end and points it at Eddie’s tomato plants for a couple of minutes.

When the fuck did he get so domestic?

He drags the hose around the house once the soil around the tomatoes and the struggling blueberries is good and saturated. Ripley immediately takes off around the yard again as soon as she sees the hose, looking over her shoulder at him expectantly.

“You know, if you just wait a few minutes, you’ll be much happier,” Richie says, even as he turns the nozzle and shoots the water towards her. She opens her mouth wide, lips drawn up over her teeth as she leaps up onto her hind legs. She takes off again and he obliges, chasing her with the water until she starts to slow again.

Water drips down her sides as she trots up next to him, happily leaning against his leg as her tongue lolls out the side of her mouth. He twists the nozzle to a slower stream of water and pats her soaked head with his free hand. She laps at the water as the pool slowly starts to fill. She takes a curious step in before stopping to look up at him.

“Go on,” Richie says, pointing at it and gently nudging her shoulder with his knee. “It’s okay. Get in, girl.”

Ripley puts her nose down and drinks some more of the water as she walks the rest of the way in. She promptly sits down, looking up at him with her bright brown eyes.

“Yeah, that’s my girl,” he says, petting her head again. She licks at his wrist.

Richie sets the hose down under the water, now that it’s full enough to sink to the bottom. He takes another sip of his beer before pulling out the inflatable ball.

“If you tear a hole in this,” he warns her, “You’re not allowed on the bed tonight.”

Ripley lies down in the water and tilts her head up towards the speckled sunlight filtering through the leaves. Richie laughs and starts to blow up the ball.

~

The glass door slides open an hour or two later. Eddie leans against the side of the house with an amused look on his face, shaking his head a little.

“You look comfortable,” Eddie says, squinting into the sun.

Richie looks up from his book and turns in his chair. He’s got both of his feet in the pool, absently rubbing at Ripley’s belly with his right foot.

“Hey there,” Richie grins. “Welcome to our slice of paradise.”

“This is what you wanted to surprise me with? A kiddie pool?”

“I found your Christmas wishlist under your pillow, sorry. I couldn’t resist.”

Eddie takes a step forward and brushes a stray tangle of hair from Richie’s face. “Did you stop by Josie’s?”

“Yeah. I only bought the meat, though. I think there’s some buns leftover from last week,” Richie says. “Sorry I didn’t check.”

“No, it’s okay. I think we’ve got buns,” Eddie says, then quickly looks down at him with a scowl.

“Say it,” Richie giggles. Perhaps he’s been sitting in the sun a little too long.

“No.”

“ _ Eddie _ .”

“I think we’ve got buns, hun,” Eddie says with a deep sigh before turning around and disappearing back into the house.

Richie laughs and scratches Ripley under the chin with his big toe.

“He loves it,” he tells her. “I don’t know why he tries to lie to us.”

“You know I can hear you, right?” Eddie says from inside the house.

“Will you wear the cute little apron while you grill?” Richie says, ignoring Eddie’s question. “The one Mike got you.”

“I don’t know why I ever let you look through my drawers,” Eddie mumbles then– “Shut up! Shut up, Richie. Don’t make the joke.”

“But that’s my whole job, babe,” Richie whines.

Ripley stands up and looks at him.

“Don’t you dare,” Richie says, immediately tucking his book close to his chest. “Ripley–!”

She ignores him and braces herself, though it doesn’t do much to keep her paws from slipping in the water as she goes into a full-body shake. The fur on her back stands on end, all the way up to the back of her head. She steps towards him and sets her dripping chin on his now-soaked lap, looking up at him like she’s never done a single thing wrong in her entire life.

“You’re lucky you’re cute.” Richie gives in and strokes his hand over her soft ear. “Babe, can you throw me a towel?”

He hears Eddie laugh. He squints down at Ripley.

“She does it every time,” Eddie says a few minutes later when he walks back outside, towel in hand. “I don’t know why you’re always surprised.”

Richie takes the towel and wipes down his arms before draping it over Ripley’s head and scrubbing at her fur. She snorts and noses at his hands through the towel.

“I like to think it’s how she tells me she loves me,” Richie says.

Eddie huffs out a laugh and leans down to kiss his forehead. “Are you hungry now?”

“I could eat. Do you want me to help?”

Eddie shrugs. “No, it’s fine. You’re on guard duty. If you let her into the house while she’s still wet, I’m cooking your burger well-done.”

Richie wrinkles his nose. “Please don’t.”

“Go tell her to lie down in the sun then,” Eddie says, trailing a hand over Richie’s shoulder as he turns to head back inside.

“You heard the man,” Richie says to her, lifting the towel off her back. “Go lie down.”

She licks the water off his leg, but doesn’t move from the pool.

“Go find your ball,” Richie tries. Her ears perk up a little. “Can you at least move so I can stand up?”

She leans against his leg and starts to pant, grinning up at him.

“You want a treat?” He whispers. She jumps out of the pool and dances around his chair, sniffing at his pockets through the gap on the side.

“Okay, well,” he says, standing up. He grimaces at his pruney feet and reaches into his pocket. “Don’t tell Dad.”

He tosses the treat into the air and laughs when she catches it.

“You know I can see you, right?” Eddie calls out from the kitchen.

“Well, shit,” Richie laughs.

He picks up the tennis ball hidden in the grass and launches it towards the far end of the yard. Ripley tears after it, dripping water the entire way. Richie wipes down his legs with the towel before tossing it on the chair and walking inside. His wet feet squeak on the tile floor.

Eddie’s standing at the counter, seasoning the beef and pressing them into neat little portions. Richie wraps himself around him, tucking his face against Eddie’s neck and kissing his soft skin.

“You’re all wet,” Eddie chastises, even as he leans back into Richie’s arms.

“I’ll go change in a minute,” Richie says, smoothing a hand over Eddie’s stomach. He feels him lean into his sun-warmed touch.

“Okay,” Eddie says, a little smile appearing on his face. He goes back to his task, quietly content in Richie’s embrace.


End file.
